time for "end point." kick us off. >> your interview for senator grassley he's for nothing when it comes to gun control, no background checks no, research, no assault weapons ban. it was not hopeful for the gun control advocates this morning. >> you can see why people are not so hopeful what's going to come out of it. >> gabby giffords you could not help but feel emotion and she was speaking out. they own guns and they're doing exactly what they need to do and say exactly what needs to be said. >> final word with. >> i know nothing about football except for the super bowl that

andy muller played football with jim harbaugh at university of michigan when i would sit in the stands with my family and andy is now an offensive coach for the ravens. >> you're sending a shout out. i love it. >> they're all in the family. >> a shout out to christine romans who is 25 today. bring in the cake! >> happy birthday! >> your birthday, happy birthday, christine. >> yeah! >> we wrap it up and be back here tomorrow morning of course. "cnn newsroom" with carol costello begins right now. see you now everybody. >> hi soledad and happy birthday christine. stories we're watching right now in the newsroom, trapped by rising water, rescuers in maryland struggle to save stranded drivers. the storm system they say killed two in the south. >> reporter: in adairsville you can see to the right of the funnel some of the debris coming up, this is only about a quarter mile from our location here on highway 41 near i-75. >> this same weather system pushing to the northeast.

day three of a dangerous standoff, a 5-year-old boy still held hostage in an underground bunker. we're learning new details about the man who took him. neighbors say he's a survivalist with anti-american views. short supply, the gun debate has people across the country looking to stock up, but now one retailer, and that would be walmart, limits how much ammunition they can buy. and the brothers harbaugh have one final score to settle. >> well, you know, fighting for everything. you fight for the extra hotdog, and you know, you fight for girls, you fight for everything. >> sibling rivalry on a super stage. "newsroom" starts now. good morning, thank you so much for being with us. i'm carol costello. we begin with a showdown on capitol hill, minutes from now, former republican senator chuck hagel begins his uphill battle to become the nation's defense secretary. the vietnam vet will testify

before the senate armed services committee in just about 30 minutes. he won't have an easy time of it. critics painted hagel as anti-israel, homophobic and way too weak on iran. there have been even anti-hagel ads paid for by anonymous donors. >> while president obama says all options are on the table for preventing a nuclear iran, hagel says military action is not a viable, feasible, responsible option. >> chris lawrence is at the pentagon and chris hagel was also accused of wanting to gut the defense department so what kind of day do you think is on tap for him? >> carol, it's likely to be a pretty rough one. with avenue got word from insiders haguele is going to testify that the militant group hezbollah is a terrorist organization and that military options are on the table for iran. it's not earth-shattering, except when you compare it to what he's already said.

chuck hagel's past is about to come roaring back at him. >> good morning, guys, how are you. >> reporter: how he's voted, what he said. >> he has insisted that the israelis negotiate with hamas, a terrorist organization. >> reporter: so one of the first questions could be, will you support israel? recently hagel promised he would, unequivocably saying his record's been distorted but he'll have to explain what he said before his nomination. >> mike referenced to a quote "jewish lobby" which i don't believe exists. >> reporter: senator also demand to know what hagel meant and why he refused to sign a letter designating hezbollah a terrorist organization. >> i cannot support a nominee for defense secretary who thinks we should be tougher on israel and more lenient on iran. >> reporter: which brings up another question. can you be tough on iran? senators are being barraged by

advertising, questioning how credible hagel can be. >> and while president obama says all options are on the table for preventing a nuclear iran, hagel says military action is not a viable, feetible, responsible option. >> reporter: it's true but the quote's from seven years ago. recently hagel got in line with president obama's policy saying military options are on the table. >> he was one of two senators who voted against iranian sanctions saying we should negotiate directly with iran, not sanction them. >> reporter: hagel did support negotiations with iran with no preconditions. he said it's useless for any one nation, including the u.s., to impose sanctions alone, but he supported the multinational sanctions in place now. in fact, hagel once supported the don't ask don't tell policy that applied to gay troops. he also at one time said that the military should not be used as a "social experiment."

but he had to fill out a questionnaire before this hearing and in that questionnaire hagel said that he would support and try to get in place benefits like health benefits for the spouses of gay and lesbian servicemembers, so carol, the evolution continues here. >> it should be another raucous hearing on the hill. chris lawrence live from the pentagon. stay with us for the nomination hearing at 9:30 eastern we'll have live coverage for you. we're also keeping an eye on a hostage standoff in alabama. we're hearing reports the gunman is a survivalist with anti-american views. police are trying to negotiate with this manholed up in an underground bunk we are a 5-year-old hostage a little boy. the man shot and killed a school bus driver, you see the school bus driver here and took the boy at gunpoint tuesday. last night he agreed to let the

police let down crayons through a plastic pipe. officials say dykes does not know the boy. maybes say dykes'actions do not surprise them. >> he's been waiting look a time bomb. i'm not surprised about the underground bunker because a majority of the time this man dug at all hours of the day and night, and he patrolled his property, which is right across the street from my yard, with a gun. >> mark poak from the southern poverty law center joins from us montgomery, alabama, good morning. >> good morning, coral. >> you've talked to investigators in alabama. help us understand what they mean by anti-american and survivalist. >> well, we spoke to the chief investigator of the county sheriff's office and he was rather brief in what he said but

he said that officers after speaking to neighbors and acquaintances of jimmy lee dykes described him as strongly anti-government in his views, as you said anti-america, whatever that may mean and he also described him as a survivalist, which seems fairly obvious, given the bunker that he dug in his backyard. >> so we're familiar with the term survivalist from this show on table, "dooms day preppers." is this the kind of guy we're talking about? those people don't seem particularly dangerous. >> i think doomsday preppers tv show tends to feature all kinds of different people looking for various types. in reality the survivalist movement is dominated by people with extremely right wing views and fears and generally those fears center around what the government is going to do.

these people very widely feel that government has very bad plans for the rest of us around the corner, that some catastrophe is looming. we saw the survivalist movement really take off in a couple of instances in the last few years one around the so-called y2k bug the fear that computers were going to collapse when the clocked rolled up from 1999 to 2000, and then again in 2008 when president obama was elected for the first time. so i think what he's going on is we're seeing some real energy come into this movement recently around the re-election of obama last fall. >> and i know you can't speak specifically to jimmy lee dykes, the suspect in this case but we're all trying to figure out why did he kidnap a child and then bring the child down into a bunker? >> well, it's completely unclear obviously what his mode has btio do with his political views.

we know that dykes yesterday was facing a court hearing on menacing charges brought against him for firing shots in the direction of a neighbor, so that seems to have been the crisis that brought this on. what exactly he hopes to accomplish, you know, by kidnapping a child and murdering the bus driver and so on i think is really anyone's guess at this point. >> mark potok, director of the southern poverty law center's intelligence project thanks so much for enlightening us this morning. thank you. >> thank you. fast-rising floods, stranded drivers, rescue workers are out in force around washington this morning, heavy rains and strong winds pounded the area overnight. this is the same storm system that left two people dead as it ripped across the south. now the tornado risk is gone now, but the northeast is in for rain and possibly snow, and then arctic temperatures move back in. before pushing northeast, these storms spun reports of at least 20 tornadoes, including one caught on camera. miguel marquez has that part of our story.

>> reporter: a reporter from atlanta affiliate wsb caught one twister as it touched down. >> toward i-75. again a tornado -- >> reporter: in its path, utter destruction. this is main street in adairsville, georgia. you can see the back side of the street trucks completely destroyed own an this side a normal day of work at the daiqui plant, they come here to make parts for tractors, complete devastation, 50 to 100 people working here today, and across this entire area, trucks, everything, shredded. at the plant, justin carnes and his fellow employees took refuge in the bathroom. what did it sound like? >> walls shaking, everything was shaking. >> pressure. >> there was like a pressure on my ears, a high-pitched

whistling sound, hurt my ears really bad. >> reporter: the thousand-mile-long storm set off tornados in six states from missouri to georgia, leaving massive damage and creating drastic temperature changes. in nashville, one man died when a tree fell on his home. >> it was a bad site, tree fell like right on it. >> reporter: in memphis, torrential rain and massive flooding, bridges, underpasses, inundated. in monticello, arkansas, a horse barn collapsed, all 11 horses a-okay. in indiana, downed trees and fire, lightning is suspected. kentucky saw strong winds, flipping tractor trailers like toys. and winds so fierce in scott county, missouri, 48 train cars knocked right over and across alabama, wind, rain and more misery. ? i'm joined from adairsville, georgia, by miguel marquez.

it's cold outside, the cleanup has started, so it's still miserable for so many people. >> reporter: very miserable and what's shock being the cold here, it was 65 yesterday, it's in the thirds now the windchill probably down into the 20s still even though the sun's come up it's warmed up a little bit. the cleanup is on, getting the power restores to folks. georgia power pulled up to put in a pole right here. the other problem in this part of georgia is the water supply, they still can't use the water until it's been decontaminated and they can open up business and people can start to get back to life as normal. >> miguel marquez reporting live from georgia this morning, adairsville. the man at the center of an elaborate hoax involving notre dame linebacker manti te'o admits he was deeply in love with the college football star.

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and lennay have broken up before but every time that you know either i would try to end it, we would or he would, it's like they would break up and something would bring them back together whether it was something going on in his life or lennay's life n my case n my lif life. i wanted to end it because after everything i had gone through i finally realized i had to move on with my life. >> tuiasosopo also says te'o was not involved in the hoax whatsoever. "new york times" says it was a target of cyber attacks by chinese hackers. it's been going on for the past four months, it started after the investigation into the relatives of the chicago knees premier. traffic is resuming on the mississippi at vicksburg, an accident involving two barges caused an oil spill.

southbound ships are allowed to pass now. crews are still cleaning up oil leaking from one of the barges. the nation's largest retailer is putting a cap on ammunition sale, walmart says customers can only buy boxes of three of ammunition per day. it's not known how long the limit will last. in the six weeks since the tragic shooting in newtown, connecticut, we've heard lots of talk about how to end gun violence in the country from washington to newtown, itself, where the community met at a public hearing. among the speakers, parents were left to pick up the pieces. >> the liberty of any person to own a military style assault weapon in a high capacity magazine and keep their home is second to the right of my son to his life. >> together we can turn this tragedy into the event that turned the tide that empowered

us as individuals, a society and the world to choose love. >> but for one resident who calls himself a responsible gun owner, any proposal to ban guns or limit ammunition is cause for concern. >> just as been said, when you have to reload, you're vulnerable. this applies to the person defending himself as well as a criminal. only the criminal is not going to observe these magazine capacity laws. the ordinary licensed person will. i don't want to be outgunned in a situation that i cannot walk or run away from. >> the six-hour hearing was the final hearing for the connecticut legislature's task force on gun violence prevention and children's safety. tonight anuradha koirala will take a closer look at the gun control debate and whether there's any solution. "guns under fire" an ""ac 360"" town hall special airs tonight at k eastern. >

8:00 eastern. who has it better than us? no-body! >> that's for sure, dad reveals who they'll be thinking about right after the game, though, and stay with us for this morning's senate hearing on chuck hagel's nomination to defense secretary, scheduled to get under way in just about ten minutes. we'll have live coverage for you.

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even though jackie harbaugh would love for the super bowl to end in a tie, we know that's unlikely. the parntents of the head coachg brothers held their own news conference and talked about who they'll be thinking about most after the game is over. >> there's going to be one winner and there's going to be one that's going to be totally disappointed, and my thoughts go to that one that will not experience the thrill of victory, and that's where our thoughts will be. every single parent can identify with that, that thrill of victory and the agony of defeat,

and on sunday night, we're going to experience both of those great emotions, and our thoughts will be with the one that comes up a little short. >> that would be tough, wouldn't it? never has a sibling rivalry been so in your face. put yourself in your place, could you annihilate your brother's dream for your own? the brothers harbaugh are living the dream, the same dream, and only one will wake up happy monday morning. >> you just grow up fighting for everything, you fight for the extra hotdog, you fight for girls, you fight for everything, so we both got our girls, but we both need our victory here this week. >> i have less than half the experience that he does, less than half the playoff appearances, wins, et cetera. we know the task ahead of us. >> reporter: they seem so cool, so detached but maybe because their sibling rivalry dates back decades. >> they really wouldn't set very

long together. >> reporter: we found this rare footage of the harbaugh family in cnn's archives back when they wouldn't share a photo. >> supposed to get one picture of the two of them and cost us twice the amount of money when it all came down to the end. >> i was supposed to be the quarterback our senior year, i was excited about that going to my senior year in high school but i got beat out by the sophomore star but it lessened the blow when it was my own brother. >> reporter: for mom and dad it was good back then. >> jim threw the pass to john and the loud speaker you could hear harbaugh to harbaugh! and i thought, oh, can it get any better than this? you know, i just thought what a neat thing to hear, you know, as a parent. >> reporter: but the high school gridiron is one thing. the super bowl? that is so off the charts different. >> i feel bad for the parents. >> reporter: julius and thomas jones know, they're brothers and both played in the envelope on opposing teams, both were running backs trying at the same time to set an nfl rushing record. >> whoever loses is, you're

going to always be known as the brother that lost especially if it's the younger brother that beats the older brother. >> reporter: the jones brothers, they like having each other to root for. >> we played each other three times, each time he was on the field, i was all the way down the other end by myself. i didn't want to hear anybody, just wanted to watch him. >> really? so you were secretly cheering him on even though he was on the other team. >> reporter: you did the same thing? >> i actually got caught one time. >> reporter: as for the harbaughs, not own the jones brothers think they'll be cheering them on. as thomas put it "if it's the super bowl you forget your brother's last name." >> reporter: coach your brother says you're a better coach than he is. what do you say? >> i know he's setting me up, trying to soften me up. >> the coaches harbaugh will get one more chance to trade equips before sunday's game, they'll hold a joint news conference tomorrow morning. on the eve of the super bowl, cnn is live in new orleans, what

it means to the city and how it became such a cultural phenomenon. join us for kickoff in new orleans, a cnn bleacher report special saturday afternoon, 4:00 eastern. stay with us for this morning's senate hearing on chuck hagel's nomination scheduled to get under way in just about six minutes. we'll have live coverage. we'll be right back. [ wind howls ] [ dog barks ] ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] something powerful is coming. ♪ see it on february 3rd.

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hunger for hours making it easier to eat smaller meals, and resist snacking. your friends might think you found the secret to losing weight. but it's no secret... it's slimful. eating less is a beautiful thing. good morning, i'm carol costello, thank you so much for joining us. it's just about 30 minutes past the hour. combat veteran fighting to become the nation's next defense secretary, minutes from now the grilling of chuck hagel begins, toughest questions likely to come from his fellow republicans sitting on the senate armed services committee. some say hagel's chances are winning senate approval could be decided today in this very hearing about to get under way.

let's head to washington now and jake tapper, cnn anchor and chief washington correspondent and this is a critical hearing for chuck hagel. >> is sure is, absolutely, carol. one of the most important things going on here is that republicans, even though chuck hagel is a former republican senator, republicans are expressing opposition to his nomination since president obama nominated him more than three weeks ago hagan tried to damp down much of the bipartisan criticism. chuck schumer, democrat of new york, key democrats shelved their skepticism and say they support him. it's not decided whether all 55 democrats are in his camp. hagel has to win over, assuming he has 55 he has to win over just five of his fellow republicans. only one republican senator thad cochran of mississippi said he is in favor. let's go to capitol hill with chief congressional

correspondent dana bash. usually when a president nominates a senator, it's a no brainer, he gets the support of all his former colleagues, we saw that with john kerry, despite being a liberal democrat almost every republican voted for him to be secretary of state. dana, why has this been a heavy lift for president obama even though chuck haguele is a former senator? >> reporter: >> it really is fascinating, you're exactly right, jake, generally there is a deference given to the club or former members of the club. that is the opposite. you can see chuck hagel trying to get comfortable at the witness table because this is a room and a panel that he's familiar with but on the other side of it and the reason to answer your question is because he just basically banked left when he was in the senate particularly over the iraq war and more recently with the more pending issues on the world stage like iran and afghanistan, he's continued to do so from the

perspective of the republicans, so it really is something that is very unusual to see former member of the senate body having such trouble with his former colleagues. >> of course the last time that a nomination like this was voted down was a former senator, john tower, nominated by the first president bush to be secretary of defense that, actually lost that nomination. today's hearing is a high stakes showdown of course not just for senator chuck hagel but also the man who nominated him, former -- i mean president barack obama. chief white house correspondent jessica yellin joins me now. president obama's pick was viewed from the very beginning as a challenge. the criticism even before he was nominated was strong both from the right and the left. how does the white house feel today when it comes to the odds that senator hagel, former senator hagel will be confirmed? >> reporter: i'll answer your question, jake, but first i want to say it's my first time on air to you so welcome to cnn from me. >> thank you. >> reporter: you look anchory, are you feeling anchory?

>> i feel anchory for a few days right now. >> reporter: we're all into it. the answer on a serious note is that the white house expects that he will be beaten up and battered and bruised and then confirmed. they know in their view the sense is that chuck hagel is sort of standing in as a proxy for president obama and the republicans who want to go after the president on foreign policy can do it through hagel today, through this hearing. the past positions hagel has taken where supporters of israel believe that he has made statements that suggest he's soft on israel, he does not support the president's positions on iran, or that he does not view hezbollah as a terrorist organization, administration officials say he will clearly address all those past statements, put them to bed and make it emphatic that he fully supports the president's positions today and yet they know this will be a drawn out in their view political exercise

and think he could get confirmed by well more than the 60% majority because he's a member of the senate club and in the end they support somebody who they view as a senator and in the white house's view still a mainstream person. jake? >> we're listening right now as we're watching right now as senator levin of michigan introduces the new members of the senate armed services committee, senator levin, democrat of michigan we see there, next is senator chuck hagel, was former republican senator from virginia john warner, chuck hagel of course a former republican senator himself. there is former senator sam nunn of georgia, both warner and nunn were known for bucking their party's indifferent ways, nunn a democrat, warner a republican and i'm sitting here, sorry, with gloria borger and that's one of the problems that senator hagel has is he was an ic iconoclast and when you buck your party you don't have many friends. >> he wasn't a democrat, and the

republicans thought he wasn't a republican, so -- >> only recently, right? >> well, only recently. i mean, look, he voted for the war in iraq but he said it was the worst vote he had ever made. he was against president obama's surge in afghanistan. so this is somebody who completely did a 360 in terms of foreign policy which is why he and john mccain used to be the band of brothers on capitol hill which is why they've really split very seriously over the years and that's why he's going to have some really tough questioning today from these republicans on the committee who believe he's too soft, too dovish, too reluctant to use force. >> let's listen to the hearing for the conffirmatiirmation of senator chuck hagel. >> -- first veteran of the

vietnam war to be secretary of defense. you can't read his account of his military service and not be impressed by it. as senator hagel explained a few years ago "probably most fundamental for me when we talk of going to war we need to think it through carefully, not just for the political and the geopolitical and the diplomatic and the economic consequences, and those are important but at least for me" he said "this old infancy sergeant thinks about when i was in vietnam in 1968, someone needs to represent that perspective in our government as well. the people in washington make the policy, but it's the little guys who come back in the body bags." senator hagel's background provides an invaluable perspective not only with respect to the difficult decisions and recommendations that a secretary of defense must make regarding the use of force and the commitment of u.s. troops overseas but also with

respect to the day-to-day decisions that a secretary must make to ensure that our men and women in uniform and their families receive the support and assistance that they need and deserve. it would be a positive message for our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines in harm's way around the world to know that one of their own holds the highest office in the department of defense, and that he has their backs. senator hagel, you would be in a position to make key recommendations regarding afghanistan, where we are down to the pre-surge level of troops with 66,000 military personnel in the country. the secretary of defense is called upon to advise the president on the size and mission of a post 2014 so-called residual force, and the pace of the draw-down between now and

the end of 2014. the key to this transition is ensuring the readiness and ability of afghan security forces to take over the defense of their own country. i've always believed that that should be our main mission and its its key to success. during my trip to afghanistan with senator jack reed last month we heard from u.s. commanders on the ground that afghan security forces are operating on their own on most operations, including conducting more than 85% of operations with limited or no u.s. support in the difficult regional command east. yet difficult obstacles remain to the process of reducing our forces and shifting responsibility to afghan forces including the difficulty of negotiating a status of forces agreement, including recent reports that the afghan government might slow down a successful program of growing and training the afghan local

police, and including questions about the current plan to reduce the size of the afghan national security forces from 352,000 to around 230,000 after 2015. we face a number of new and growing threats elsewhere in the world, such as the ongoing threat posed by iran's nuclear weapons program and the increasingly destructive civil war in syria, but the risk that conflict could result in the loss of control over that country's substantial stockpile of chemical weapons. there's also the continuing instability in other countries affected by the arab spring, the growth of al qaeda affiliates in uncovered regions, including yemen, somalia and north africa and the continued, unpredictable behavior of the nuclear-armed regime in north korea.

we face these challenges at a time when the dod budget is under unique pressure as a result of cuts previously agreed upon by congress, the budgeting by continuing resolution, and the impending threat of a sequester. secretary pa nnetta has said th a sequester would be devastating for our military. senator hagel's views on the continuing resolution and the sequester will be of great senator hager in the senate know he is a man who is not afraid to speak his mind. senator hagel has made a number of statements over the course of his career which committee members will ask him about during today's hearing. for example, senator hagel is stated that unilateral sanctions against iran "are exactly the wrong approach" and that "they're the worst thing we can do would be to try to isolate

iran." i believe that while effective multilateral sanctions are preferable that unilateral sanctions are an important part of the approach, that the obama administration has followed and that congress has supported and it appears sanctions are producing tremendous pressure on iran. another statement which has raised concern is senator hagel's recommendation that we conduct "direct, unconditional and comprehensive talks with the government of iran." now while there's value in communicating with our adversaries, the formulation used by senator hagel seemed to imply a willingness to talk to iran on some issues that i believe that most of us would view as non-negotiable and therefore any willingness to talk to iran would need to be highly conditionable. senator hagel's reassurance to me in my office that he supports the obama administration's

strong stance against iran is signature cant and we look forward to hearing from senator hagel today in some depth on that subject. we will also be interested in senator hagel's addressing troubling statements that he has made about israel and its supporters here in the united states, a statement in 2008, that our policy of non-engagement with the syrians has isolated us more than the syrians and a 2009 statement that we should not isolate ha s hamas, a terrorist organization. there is much to be explored here at this hearing buts awe struggle with the difficult security challenges facing our nation the president needs to have a secretary of defense in whom he has trust, will give him unvarnished advice, a person of integrity and one who has a

personal understanding of the consequences of decisions relative to the use of military force. senator hagel certainly has those critically important qualifications to lead the department of defense. senator inhoff? >> thank you, mr. chairman. i'd like to echo your remarks about secretary panetta. i don't see him here today but i do recall when he was first nominated i was probably one of the first phone calls to him and i've enjoyed working with him, with senator mccain certainly i'll continue to depend on his counsel and you and i have worked very well together in the past. mr. chairman, before i continue, i'd like to consider the

documentation. senator hagel was asked to provide the speeches he's delivered over the last five years yet his initial submission was for only four speeches, even though as was noticed by, where is -- by senator cruz that he had honorariate for 12 peachesp. we received them last night, i'm hoping we'll be able to get that information before we have to cast votes on this nominee. thank you, mr. chairman for senator hagel to serve as secretary of defense. senator haguele is a good man who has a record of service, i first learned of that when he was first elected and i have been a great admirer of the time he spent in vietnam with the sacrifices that he made, and while his service is commendable

the fate of his nomination should be decided by the totality of his record. it is the votes that he has cast and the statements he's made over the many years of his career that will inform us as to his judgment, his view of america's role in the world and his view of the military required to support that role. as i told senator hagel in my office some time ago, over two weeks ago i guess it was that after a long and careful review of his record and the things he has said and the things i have personally experienced with him, that we're too philosophically opposed on the pressing issues facing this country and for me to support his nomination therefore i told him i would not be supporting his nomination. his record demonstrates what i views is a lack of steadfast opposition to policies that diminish u.s.'s power and influence throughout the world as well as a recent trend of

policy reversals that seem based on political expediency rather than core beliefs. on many of the security challenges facing the u.s. interests around the world senator hagel's record is deeply troubling and out of the mainstream, too often it seems he's willing to subscribe to a worldwide view that is predicated on appeasing our adversaries while shunning our friends. i remember quoting hiram man says those who cried appease appease are hanged by those they tried to please. in 2000, and i'll mention a few of these things, they'll come out in the hearing. in 2000 an overwhelming majority of senators sent a letter to president clinton reaffirming our solidarity with israel. i was one of them who carried that letter around, i remember it well and senator hagel is one of just four who refused to sign that letter, and i'm sure he'll

want to comment about that. in 2001 he was one of just two senators who voted against a bill extending harsh sanctions against iran, a year later he urged the bush administration to support iran's membership in the world trade organization. senator hagel voted against a resolution designating iran's revolutionary guard corps a group responsible for killing american soldiers in iraq and afghanistan as a terrorist organization. on multiple occasions he advocated for direct negotiations with iran, a regime that continues to repress its people, doggedly pursue a nuclear weapon capability and employee terrorist proxies including hamas, hezbollah threaten the security of israel and the region. senator hagel has been an outspoken supporter of the nuclear disarmament and the

global zero movement. we're sensitive to that. the president said many times he wants a nuclear free world and i know that senator hagel is right there with him but at a time when north korea's bling rent actions threaten our allies with their nuclear capabilities and security of our own nation and that of our allies, why would we want to unilaterally disarm ourselves of nuclear capability? of late however senator hagel has expressed views with senator colleagues and through the press that appear glaringly at odds with his long-held positions particularly on issues dealing with israel, iran, and our ne nuclear arsenal, this apparent willingness to walk back or alter his position possibly for the sake of political expediency on such important issues is deeply troubling and sends a concerning message to our allies and our adversaries alike.

though i respect senator hagel's record to date demonstrates he would be a staunch advocate for the continuation of the misguided policies of the president's first term, retreating from america's unique global leadership role in shrinking the military will not make america safer. on the contrary, it would embolden our enemies, endanger our allies and provide opportunity for nations that do not share our interest to fill a global leadership vacuum we leave behind. it is for these reasons that i believe that he's the wrong person to lead the pentagon at this perilous and consequential time. thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you very much, senator inhofe. we have two former chairmen of this committee with us to introduce senator hagel. no senator has had two dear

friends or better mentors than i have had with senators nunn and warner, and i just want to welcome them back to this committee. i don't have to tell them they're among dear, dear friends. those of us who have known them and who work with them and have worked with them so it's a real, real treat. welcome you back to the committee i think i'll call on you senator nunn first. we'll call on you alphabetica y alphabetically, i don't have any way to do it. sam -- okay. sam, welcome back. >> we're watching the senate armed services committee hearings on president's obama nominee to the secretary of defense. former republican senator from nebraska chuck hagel. and right now, two of senator hagel's allies, former senators sam nunn of georgia, a democrat, and former senator, john warner,

a republican of virginia, testifying on his behalf. i'm here with gloria borger. gloria, a few days ago, you sat down with vice president joe biden and one of the things you asked him about was this criticism that the president's new foreign policy team, senator former john kerry, the new secretary of state, and chuck hagel are two dullish. let's play that clip. >> for four year, the real president obama has exercised force responsibly as boldly and as as bravely as any president in american history. this is a guy who has not backed away and he's also ended wars that almost every military man out there will tell you we should not be engaged in again. the idea of getting engaged in a ground war in a country that's in transition is not a prescription any military man would suggest. and to suggest that two -- two war heroes, one with the bronze star, a purple heart, silver

star, taking over both the state department and defense is -- is whatever the phrase was, is ridiculous. >> it's ridiculous. is it really ridiculous, gloria i think even bush -- i'm sorry, i think even obama white house visors would acknowledge that clinton and gates or panetta are to the right of kerry and hagel. >> and i think you're right. and i think what this represents is we just saw from senator inhofe's complaints about hagel, whom he says he's not going to support, is that it's a different world view. i mean, inhofe just said that hagel supports policies that diminish u.s. power. what hagel would say, is that it's a different world right now. this is more realistic. we need to pare back the military. we can't get involved in ground wars as you saw the president just say.

it's two conflicting ground views. two ways to decide how the military changes to fight on different fronts. >> we'll have a lot more about the senate confirmation hearings for senator chuck hagel, former republican senator, president brooke's nominee for the secretary of defense in just a few minutes. i'm carol cost deello.

before we go back to the senate nomination hearings for chuck hagel, we have to bring you to the stock exchange. is it possibly we could hit 14,000, allison costic? >> it could happen. you may see modest gains trickle along all day. what investors are waiting to do, waiting for tomorrow. that's when the big jobs report comes out. we may have to wait until february because it's the last day of january to see dow at 14,000. employers are expected to have added 180,000 jobs if we're

surprised ke upside or downside, you're likely to see a definitive move that would push us over the mark. we're about 16,000 points away from that mark. we'll keep our eye on it, carol. >> allison coastic live from the stock exchange. we're waiting for chuck hagel to speak. president obama nominated him to be third secretary of defense. senator hagel, of course, a controversial pick. let's go to the penalty gone, chris lawrence. one of the reasons, chris, that senator hagel is so controversial, critics saying he would slash the pentagon budget. he has said he thinks the pentagon budget is bloated. how tough will it be will calm those concerns today and how crucial it? >> it's pretty important

overall, jake. i mean, you've got the chairman of the house armed services committee coming out and saying the secretary of defense's first obligation is to win the budget battle with the white house. and there's some critics who say chuck hagel isn't even in that fight. after saying the pentagon budget needs to be pared down. so it will be interesting to see how much he reveals on whether he would push back against further cuts to the pentagon budget. >> very interesting. of course, one of the things we'll be watching is former senator chuck hagel who we're waiting to hear from, is his relationship with john mccain. dana bash, our chief congressional correspondent, hagel and mccain used to be best friends. i remember when i was a cub reporter in 2000 on the straight talk express follows lieu the hills of new hampshire and iowa -- well, not iowa, new hampshire and south carolina, senator hagel had his own bunk there. but they had have somewhat of a

falling out. tell us more about that, dana? >> that's right, they were incredibly close. in fact, i want to play for our viewers a moment that crystallizes the difference 20 then and now. back during the time you were covering him, as i, back in 2000, running for president. listen to an answer he gave to a voter when the voter asked who he would put in his cabinet. >> as far as secretary of defense is concerned, there's a lot of people that could do that. one of them, i think, is senator chuck hagel could do that kind of job. >> chuck hagel. chuck hagel was his answer who he would put in his own cabinet now, and now, here we have behind me john mccain getting ready to grill his old friend chuck hagel because he simply is worried he is not the man for that same exact post in president obama's administration. the answer to your question fundamentally comes down to what

happened in and around iraq. john mccain was very much a supporter, you'll remember, a proponent of the military surge that he believed saved the iraq war from getting even worse than it was. at the time, chuck hagel said it was one of the greatest foreign policy blunders since vietnam. it really what is their shared experience, jake, in vietnam, that's what drew them together. that's what sent mccain out to campaign for the first election in 1996. but it was that same experience that tore them apart policywise, on iraq. because hagel, as an enlisted man, thought that war should be the last resort. then you have on the opposite side, mccain who saw war and the vietnam war, as a lesson that we should never give up. and that was what he wanted to do in in iraq. policywise, that's what changed them. friendship-wise, i'm told they just drifted apart. you know john mccain, and chuck

hagel when you have a policy that you're so passionate about, it hurts a person as well. >> of course, the fact that he was an enlisted man in vietnam is not unimportant. it's one of the reasons that president obama picked former sergeant chuck hagel from nebraska. and gloryia, let's talk about this more, what exactly did mccain and hagel split over iraq about? specifically, they both voted for the war in iraq. >> right. and then hagel thought he had made a huge blunder. that it was a mistake. and it that he shouldn't have done it. and then they continued to split more and more. and then, of course, as you know, when now president obama was running, chuck hagel stopped just short of endorsing obama. but he did travel with him to the middle east. and, of course, his wife endorsed obama. so that's something that's going to, you know, split up a relationship. but one more thing, i don't

think you can underestimate the importance of this president of having the enlisted man, sergeant hagel, be the person who heads up the pentagon. because what's very important to this president is that he have somebody at the pentagon, particularly as you look to reshape the pentagon and pare it down, whom he believes can stand up to the generals, jake. that's really important to this president. not be cowed by the generals. and not do exactly what they want. but listen to them and tell them, you know, from the point of view of the man who was in the fox hole, i can tell you this is what we need to do and this is what we don't need to do. and the president also believes that hagel has a lot of credibility of somebody who's been in the fox hole, whose been wounded. >> literally. >> who literally understands what happens when you go to war and would, transfer therefore be

more reluctant to go to more. >> and he would be the first enlisted man to be secretary of defense. what's also interesting, and i want to bring in jessica yellin on this, our chief white house correspondent, the fact that kerry and hagel clearly mark a slight, if not more than slight turn to the left for the obama national security team, as even white house officials will acknowledge from gates and panetta at defense and secretary clinton. as we're waiting for former senator chuck hague to testify, he'll testify in a few minutes, jessica, i just wanted to get your thoughts. do you think, knowing both hagel and kerry as you do, do you think the fact that they are both decorated vietnam war veterans, both of whom who have had friends die. i know senator kerry has killed men. i'm not sure about senator hagel. i believe he has. but do you think that actually -- those experiences made those more cautious about using u.s. force than perhaps

others? >> i think that it will likely -- i think that's one of the reasons, jake, that the president has chosen these men. i mean, his aides -- administration officials are clear about it, they believe -- what gloria was saying the rush to war, it could be cautious, a last resort. and chuck hagel expresses that view as does kerry. and more than that, we're in a time transition. as the president draws down troops from afghanistan, as you've been reporting, that he's now looking for a way to reposition the u.s. defense posture. so that we fight our new war against al qaeda in a different way, without necessarily putting boots on the ground. and that means looking to, especially, technology, intelligence, the use of drones, we've seen that more. and that's something that i think you can expect chuck hagel to embrace. and sort of sell and support at

the department of defense. and so the president -- both president and chuck hagel have looked for dwight eisenhower as a role model in this, oddly enough because eisenhower went through something similar when eisenhower was drawing down from the korean war and facing off the u.s.s.r., he looked to weapons and the president, looking to bring down al qaeda, to drones and intelligence, i'm told there's a portrait up of eisenhower that was painted by his brother mike hagel. invoking a general doesn't hurt a democrat accused by you and others as being a lefty, jake. >> if you're joining us right now, we're watching the senate confirmation hearings for former republican senator chuck hagel. president obama's nominee to be secretary of defense.

we're waiting for the testimony of chuck hagel which should be any minute. but before senator hagel testifies, gloria, i wanted to ask you, this is not just a national security team that is to the left. it actually may be -- to the left of president obama's former team. it actually may be where president obama's actual heart and principles are. >> i agree. >> and maybe in the first term, he was doing things that he needed to do in order to be more to the center. >> right. if the first term was more a team of rivals, you know, hillary clinton or keeping gates, it was because the president had sort of something to prove, first term. new, young, inexperienced. the second term, to me, and i'm with the hagel pick, is the comfortable team. the kind of, okay, i know where i want to go. and i want the people i'm comfortable with to go there with me. and i think chuck hagel has been become the president's friend.

he heads -- co-heads his intelligence advisory board. they know each other well. they talk to each other. they're comfortable with each other. they agree with each other's world view. so this is about a second term president, finding his comfort zone. and bringing people in who are in that same zone with him. i think that's what hagel is. >> so it's not a team of rivals, it's a team of bros? >> it's a team of bros. it's a team of buddies. sort of meatloaf and mashed potatoes. i'm comfortable with you, you're my -- you're going to reinforce what i believe and you're going to help carry out what i believe, very different from the first term. >> we're going to take a quick break and be right back with the nomination hearings of former senator chuck hagel. back in a few seconds. fortunately we've got ink.

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i'm carol costello. before we get back to the senate confirmation hearings for chuck hagel, we want to take a quick look at the weather because there was very rough weather in the southeast last night and that weather is headed to the northeast. good morning. >> the cold is continuing to be the cold arctic air. take a look at chicago alone. tuesday, 63 degrees. today, temperatures only at 17 with snow flurries throughout. a lot of change. all of these arctic air

continues to drive to montana straight down to the northeast. we're warming up, behind it, you're dealing with cold air. notice as we move into today, look how much these temperatures have dropped. we're talking 30 degrees below where we were here in atlanta. let's talk about what that means, you add in high temperatures close to cool temperatures, you're getting a lot of wind out there. take a look at bismarck, negative 37 degrees currently. very tough through the weekend. >> i feel guilty about complaining right now, it's chillier in atlanta, but not like this. >> thanks. >> let's head back to washington and jake tapper. >> thank you, carol, this moment we've been waiting for all morning. former senator chuck hagel, former senator of nebraska being confirmed or his hearing of confirmation. he's about to testify right now. you see former republican senator john warner of virginia speaking on behalf of chuck

hagel. we expect hague to speak any minute. just to recap, hagel is perhaps the most controversial of all president obama's nominees, including jack lew for treasury, senator john kerry. chuck hagel, though, he's a republican senator. he's somebody who is not enjoying a lot of republican support because of his positions on iran. his position in the past on the war in iraq, being seen as a turncoat by many republican senators by criticizing president bush at the time for the way the war in iraq was conducted. of course, one of the strengths about him is that he is a former combat veteran sergeant. and now we're going to hear from senator hagel himself. let's take a listen to the confirm hearing of former republican senator chuck hagel. >> -- powerful introductions. and i just wish every member of the senate and every american could have heard and i hope will

hear and read about what you said here today, about chuck hagel. and i also notice there's another former senator who is a member of that band of brothers who's with us today, i just notice in the audience, max cleland is here, and i want to welcome you max, as an old friend of the senate and the nation. let me now call on senator hagel, senator warner, senator nunn, again, thank you for your introductions. and you're free to get back to your lives or stay as you wish. senator hagel. >> thank you chairman levin, ranking member inhofe and distinguished members of the committee. i'm honored to come before you

today as the president's nominee to be secretary of defense. first as you suggested, mr. chairman, let me introduce my family. my wife lilybet. our son zillor and our daughter are not with us today. our son claims he's taking a test. we'll confirm that later. but both our son and daughter that we're very proud of, and i think like any proud father and any proud mother, you all know how i feel about that, as you have the same feelings about your children. it's the same way lilybet and i feel about ours. i also want to introduce my brother tom who served with me in vietnam. my brother mike who is our number three brother.

and and i might add who actually possesses any talent our family has. he has in the pentagon ten paintings, as chairman of the air force artist guild over the years. and they're hanging in different locations in the pentagon. so we have one brother of some acclaim. and one of us did make it, my brother mike, mike's son is sitting behind him, josh. he is one of three children that mike has. we have here also cousins, many friends, people i owe money to. and who now -- who knows else as i've received some publicity over the weeks. i want to also thank my friends

sam nunn and john warner. i want to thank them for their support. their encouragement, their friendship over many years. and as each of you who had the privilege of serving with those two senators, i, too, add my thanks for their tremendous service to our country. these two distinguished americans represent what's best about american public service and responsible bipartisanship. they have embodied both in their careers. long distinguished careers. and are models for each of us and of course, to my family and friends and my fellow veterans who are here, as has been noted, max cleland, jan scruggs, good

friends who i've known for many years, i'm grateful for them. not just for veterans but fellow supporters and those who are not, thank you. a life is only as good as the family and friends you have and the people you surround yourself with. i also want to thank my friend leon panetta for his tremendous service to our subject over so many years. if i'm given the privilege of succeeding him, it will be a high honor. president obama, for his confidence and trust in me, i thank him. i'm humbled by the opportunity and the possibility he's given me to serve our country once again. and i fully recognize the immense responsibilities of the secretary of defense. i shared with the president if i am confirmed with the united states senate, i will always do my best. i will always do my best for our nation and for the men and women and their families who are called on to make the enormous

sacrifices of military service. they're safety, success and welfare will always be at the forefront of the decisions i make. i also assured the president that i will always provide him with my most honest and informed advice. i make that same commitment to this committee and to the congress. if confirmed, i will reach out to the members of this committee for advice and collaboration. it will be a partnership. because the national security challenges america faces require it. our nation's security is the highest priority of our leaders and our government. we cannot allow the work of confronts the great threats we face today to be held hostage to partisanship of either bodies allowed. the stakes are too high. men and women of all political

philosophies and ideas die and fight for our country, as this committee knows so well, protecting our national security, or committing a nation to war, can never become political litmus tests. i know secretary panetta has put a strong emphasis on reaching out to the congress. i, like leon, come from the congress and respect and understand this institution's indispensable role in setting policy and helping govern our country. we are all products of the forces that shape us. for me, there has been nothing more important in my life, or a more defining influence on my life. than my family. whether it was helping my mother raise four boys after my father, a world war ii veteran died suddenly at age 39 on christmas day, or serving side by side, my brother tom in vietnam. or the wonderful miracle of my wife and i being blessed with

two beautiful children. that is who i am. we each bring to our responsibilities frames of reference. these frames of reference are formed by our life's experiences. they help instruct our judgments. we build out from those personal foundations by continually informing ourselves, listening and learning. like each of you, i have a record. a record that i'm proud of. i'm proud of my record not because of any accomplishments i may have achieved, or certainly because of an absence of mistakes. but, rather, because i've tried to build that record based on living my life and fulfilling my responsibilities as honestly as i knew how. and with hard work. underpinning everything i've done in my life was the belief that we must always be striving to make our nation a better and more secure place for all our people. during the 12 years i had the privilege of serving the people of nebraska in the united states

senate, i cast over 3,000 votes. and hundreds of committee votes. i've also given hundreds of interviews and speeches and written a book. so as you all know, i'm on the record, i'm on the record on many issues. but no one individual vote, no one individual quote, no one individual statement defines me. my beliefs or my record. my overall world view has never changed. that america has and must maintain the strongest military in the world, that we must lead in the international community, to confront threats and challenges together. and take advantage of opportunities together. that we must use all our tools of american power to protect our citizens and our interests. i believe, and i always have believed, that america must engage in the world. not retreat from the world.

but engage from the world. my record is consistent on these points. it's clear that we're living at a defining time. our nation is emerging from over a decade of war. we have brought our men and women in uniform home from iraq and starting to bring them home from afghanistan. that does not mean that the threats we face and continue to face are any less dangerous or complicated. in fact, it's quite the opposite. recent events in mali and algeria remind us clearly of this. 21st century technologies, economies, threats are bringing the 7 billion citizens closer together than ever before. and as our planet adds another 2 billion people over the next 25 years, the dangers, complications and human demands will not be lessened but rather

heightened. despite these challenges, i believe we also have historic opportunities to help build a safer, more prosperous, more secure and more hopeful and just world, than maybe at anytime in the history of man. for all people. yes, the curse of intolerance, hatred exists around the world and we must be clear-eyed about this danger. and we will be. we will not hesitate to use the full force of the military. but we must be smart, and more importantly wise. wise in how we employ all the nation's great power. it will be critically important for our country and the world. while we will not hesitate to act unilaterally when necessary, it is essential that we work closely with allies and partners to enhance america's interests

and security, as well as global security. if confirmed, i will continue to build on the efforts of this administration and of former secretaries gates, secretary panetta and secretary clinton, to strengthen our alliances and partnerships around the world. i will also look forward to working with my former york colleague, and our friend john kerry in this pursuit. as i told the president, i'm committed to his positions on all issues of national security, specifically the decisions that the department of defense is in the process of implementing now. this including the defense strategic guidance the president outlined in january 2012. allow me to very briefly address a few of those specific issues now. first, we have a plan to place -- a plan in place to transition out of afghanistan. continue bringing our troops home and end the war. which has been the longest war, as we all know, in america's history.

as you also know, discussions are ongoing about what the u.s. presence in afghanistan will look like after 2014. the president has made clear, and i agree, that there should be only two functions for u.s. troops that remain in afghanistan after 2014. counterterrorism, particularly to target al qaeda and its affiliates and to training afghan forces. it's time we forge a new partnership with afghanistan, to its government, and most importantly with its people. second as secretary of defense, i will about sure we stay vigilant and keep up the pressure on terrorist organizations as they try to expand their affiliates around the world, in places like yemen, somalia and north africa. at the pentagon, that means continues to invest in and build the tools to assist in that fight. such as special operations forces. and new intelligence,

surveillance, and reconnaissance technologies. and it will mean working hand in hand with our partners here at home, across the national security intelligence communities. to confront these and other threats, especial lehr tly the g threat, the very dangerous and real threat of cyberwarfare. third, i have made clear, i'm fully committed to the president's goal of prevents iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. and as i've been on record on that issue. as i've said in the past many times. all options must be on the table, to achieve that goal. my policy has always been the same as the president's, one of prevention, not of containment. and the president has made clear that is the policy of our government. as secretary of defense, i will make sure that the department is prepared for any contingency. that's my job. that's my responsibility.

i will ensure our friend and ally israel maintains its qualitative military edge in the region and will continue to support systems like iron dome which today is saving israeli lives from terrorist rocket attacks. that support, i have always made clear and been on the record for. fourth, while we pursue the reductions in our deployed stockpiles and launchers consistent with the new s.t.a.r.t. treaty, i'm committed to maintaining a ready, strong and effective as anal. arsenal. it it's played a central role in ensuring global security in the avoidance of world war iii. i have been committed to that. my record is clear on that, i am committed to modernizing our nuclear arsenal. as we emerge from this decade of war, we must also broaden our

nation's focus overseas as we look at future threats and challenges. as this committee know, that's why d.o.d. is balances its resources towards the asia-pacific region. we're in the process of modifying across the entire region to defend our partnership with deeper allies. especially japan, south korea and australia. to continue to defer and defend against provocations against states like north korea, as well as nonstate actors. and to expand our networks of security operations throughout the region to combat terrorism. counterproliferation, provide disaster relief, fight piracy and ensure maritime security. i will continue this rebalancing even as we continue to work closely, closely with our longtime allies of nato and our friends and with allies and partners and friends of other regions of the world. at the same time, we will continue to focus on challenges

in the middle east and north africa where were have clear national interests. rather, it's a recognition that the united states has been and always will be a pacific power. and the asia-pacific is vital to america's interests. doing all of this, and much more, will require smart and strategic budget decisions. i have made it clear, i share leon panetta's and our service chief's serious concerns about the impact sequestration would have on our armed forces. and as someone who has run businesses i know that the uncertainty and turbulence of the current budget climate makes it much more difficult to manage the pentagon's resources in our national security. if confirmed i'm committed to effectively and efficiently using every single taxpayer's dollar the right way. to maintenance the strongest military in the world and to working with congress to ensure

the department has the resources it needs and that the disposition of those resources is accountable. even as we deal with difficult budget decisions, i will never break america's commitment to our troops, our veterans and our military families. we will continue to invest in the well-being of our all-volunteer force and working with the v.a. and other administrations make sure the troops get the jobs, health care as they deserve. just as they did when i co-aurth authori authored the g.i. bill. this includes focusing on the mental health of our force. no one who volunteers to fight and die for this country should ever feel like they have nowhere to turn. that's unacceptable for this country. in my 12 years in the senate, my

one guiding principle, on every security decision i made and every vote i cast, was always this -- simply this. is our policy worthy of our troops and their families and the sacrifices that we ask them to make? that same question will guide me, if i'm confirmed as secretary of defense. our men and women in uniform and their families must never doubt that their leader's first priority is them. i believe my record of leadership on veterans issues over the years, going back to my service in the veterans administration under president reagan demonstrates my rock solid commitment to our veterans and their families. we must always take care of our people. that's why i will work to ensure that edge who fights for this country has the same rights and same opportunities as i've toughed with you in many of our meetings. i'm fully committed to implementing the repeal of don't

ask don't tell and do everything possible under current law to provide equal benefits to the families of all, all our service members and their families. i will work with the service chiefs, as we officially open combat positions to women, a decision i strongly support. and i will continue the important work that leon panetta has done to combat sexual assault. sexual assault in the military. maintain the health and well-being of those who serve is critical to those who are a strong military. because people must always come first. as we look ahead to the coming years, we have an extraordinary opportunity, opportunity now, at this moment to define what's next for america's military in our country. it is incumbent upon all of us to make decisions that will ensure our nation is prepared to confront any threat we may face in the future, protect our citizens and remain -- remain the greatest force for good in the world.

if confirmed as secretary of defense, it will be my great honor, working with the president, this committee, the congress and our military, to ensure our policies are worthy of the service and sacrifice of america's men and women. thank you. mr. chairman, i look forward to your questions. >> the opening remarks of former republican senator chuck hagel during confirmation hearings for him. president obama has nominated the controversial former republican senator and former infantry sergeant during the vietnam war to be his secretary of defense. let's get a quick reaction from our team, dana bash, our chief congressional correspondent in the room. how is he being received in that hearing room during the armed services committee hearing? >> you know, the whole entire panel looked stoic. generally, as you and i discussed, when you have a member of the club that you're so familiar with as a sitting senator and former senator as we have here, there is kind of a

familiarity and warmth that you sort of feel in the room. not now. not at all. in fact, even when senator hagel started his opening remarks, may have made a joke about somebody is there that he knows money to, there were a few chuckles, but not from the people he would expect them from. for example, john mccain, who you know, he likes to break the ice with humor as much as anybody. not on this moment. not on this subject. not with this dynamics. so that, to me, was what really struck me and i think it sets the tone for what we're going to see in the next couple of hours as a tough q and a. >> that is chilly, and as you know, there's a fairly low ball when it comes to humor in congressional hearings. i'm going to jessica yellin. what struck me in the opening remarks of chuck hagel, not only that he talked about his world view, but domestic policies talking about don't ask, don't tell, talking about women in combat, and sexual assault in

combat. this is really not just about foreign policy, right? >> absolutely. this is about addressing, first of all, his past comments which were perceived as anti-gay by some. as he said that was long in the past, so he's trying to put those to bed. but it's also to trying to win the support of key constituencies of the democratic base and president's base. but also drawing on the experience of an enlisted saying nobody can better serve as the head of the armed forces than a man who's been there and served himself. i can read you from -- jake, he got the endorsement of seven veterans' organizations last night. one of whom said as a former enlisted solg eed soldier, sena understand the troops an a deeply personal level. that's been one, to constantly remind the senators that he's

been on the front lines, served and understands and is sensitive to the needs of each of these groups of people who have been in the field, and as they come home and as each of the constituent groups that have complained. one other point, jake, you mentioned humor. one of the reasons that the president has liked hagel and has come close to him he's perceived him as a guy who does not have a big ego. and casual to be around. partly, you can see it there, he assumes not the normal demeanor while he's sitting there. and not very uptight and official. so i think he'll try to roll out his casual jokey self throughout the day, jake. >> of course, we didn't hear president obama talk about senator mccain and his war experience in 2008, because he had served in combat, as a prisoner of war, that he would be best to be commander in chief. i guess that argument gets made for the needs at the time.

let's go to chris lawrence at the pentagon. chris, what's been the reaction within the pentagon about the hearing so far, the tenor and former senator chuck hagel's remarks? >> i talked to simple who said if you want to know what hagel thinks just ask the president. word for word, the position that hagel is taking right now is almost exactly what you hear coming from the white house. there's a feeling among some of the officials here that you're never going to see a defense secretary with as much power as bob gates had a couple years ago. the president at the time didn't have much experience dealing with the pentagon. bob gates was a republican, holed over who gave the president some credibility and cover on national security issues. they say here at the pentagon, the game has changed. that foreign policy is firmly in control of the white house. but they feel where the defense secretary has sort of a bully

pulpit is in funding. you've heard leon panetta coming out time and time again, wailing against the defense cuts, saying they'll hollow out the military, and there is concern, about how forceful, chuck hagel, if he is confirmed will make that case and try to protect the pentagon from what they don't want which is more cuts to the budget. >> chris lawrence at the pentagon, thanks. and my friend are gloria borger here. what struck you in the most with what senator hagel had to say? >> well, i agree with chris. what he was doing is defending the president's world position here. he's making it very clear. he knows they're going to take a look at votes on iran sanctions. he said no one individual vote, quote, statement, defines me. he knows he and the president are going to get criticized on that. the third thing, of course, going back to the enlisted

man -- >> sergeant hagel. >> -- sergeant hagel. he said during my 12 years in the senate, my one guiding principle has been is our policy worthy of our troops. and that is effectively what the president are said when he nominated him. this is a man who understands the troops who can stand up to the generals. as you go through this remaking of the pentagon, not -- let's put aside the pentagon cuts that could be coming. but just the reshaping of the pentagon. the president if he's confirmed, would have, "a," a republican in charge of reshaping the pentagon. and "b," an enlisted man who has no qualms about standing up to the generals and saying, you know what, i disagree with you here. this is what the troops need. i'm going to give the troops everything they need. but we need to rethink our general overall vision about where we need to engage. and how we need to engage with our allies and not unilaterally because we can't afford. >> of course, the critics would

say, look, this is a man who opposed the surge in iraq which is perceived as somewhat of a success, so perhaps the principles aren't always steering him in the right direction. >> but he also opposed the president's surge in afghanistan. now, he's working for the president. >> i'm not sure how the president feels about his own surge. we'll take a break with "cnn newsroom" with carol costello. we'll be back. i'm jake tapper in washington. walmart lowers thousands of prices every week. if you find a lower advertised price, they'll match it at the register. no way! yeah! touchdown! ready? get out! that's the walmart low price guarantee! see for yourself! bring in your last receipt, see how much you can save. see for yourself! get great prices on everything you need for your game time party. like rotel diced tomatoes and popcorn, indiana original kettle corn backed by walmart's low price guarantee.

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hey, good morning to you. i'm carol costello. we're keeping our eye on an hostage standoff in alabama that's entering its third now. police trying to negotiate with a man who is holded up in a bunker with a 5-year-old hostage. cnn is in midland city, alabama. brings us up to date. >> reporter: carol, at this point, the latest from thes havers, they do not believe that this young boy has been harmed. we're learning a lot moore about jimmy dykes. we know first of all, when we

talk to people here about who he is, they describe him as a reclusive person. a paranoid person who worried a great deal, even about alien abductions. we also know have learned that he's had a criminal history. he was charged with improper exhibition of a firearm. though that case was administratively dismissed and also possession of marijuana, under 20 grams. most recently, carol, here in this city, we know he's was supposed to be in court allegedly firing a pistol at one of his neighbors. when you talk to people here about jimmy dykes, they describe him as a really mean person. take a listen. >> a little over a month asing he shot at a friend of mine with his wife, baby and mother in the truck. and the dale county sheriff came out, and the man told him he didn't have a gun. and the sheriffs didn't even look for the gun. so if they would have looked for

the gun and probably found it, this incident now wouldn't have taken place. >> reporter: you know, so at this point, though, investigators say that the negotiations are ongoing. they were able to get this young 5-year-old boy the medications that he needs, daily medications. and also able to get him crayons and a coloring book. these are things that the young boy requested. so that is a bit of good news as they continue to talk with jimmy dykes. >> tell us about jimmy dykes' alleged victim, this bus driver who is now being called a hero. >> reporter: yeah, charles poland. that's the other thing in town. this town was hit hard by that. this is a bus driver, by many accounts, people say this is a person who did everything he could to protect his kids. in this situation, we understand he even tried to put the bus in reverse to knock mr. dykes off his balance. again, he lost his life in the

process of trying to protect those kids. you find in this community, carol, you know, just a few hours ago, just overnight, there was a prayer service here. people are thinking about him, because again, even the local paper did a story on him, describing him as a person who didn't really want a lot of fame or notoriety, didn't want to be considered a hero. just a person who did his job well and took care of the kids, carol. >> george howell reporting live from midland city, alabama, thanks so much. >> announcer: this is cnn breaking news. and we are following breaking news out of texas. this is outside of dallas in coffman county. a county employee shot outside the courthouse in a parking lot by two unknown suspects. it happened minutes ago. the victim being taken to the hospital. the gunman still on the loose. the courthouse under lockdown. when we get more information, of course, we'll pass it along. the nation's largest retailer is putting a temporary cap on ammunition sales. walmart says customers can only

buy three boxes of ammo a day. ammunition has been in short supply in recent weeks, and it's not known how long walmart will limit the sell of ammo. traffic resuming on the mississippi river near vicksburg involving two accidents after an oil spill. the coast guard allowing southbound ships to pass through the area. crews cleaning up oil from that leaki leaking barge. "the new york times" was the subject of a cyberattack. investigation is going ton with the relative of the chinese premiere. fast-rising floods, stranded drivers, rescue workers out in force around washington, d.c. this morning. heavy rains and strong winds pounded the area overnight before pushinging through the northeast. that's gaithersburg, maryland.

it left two people dead, one in tennessee, one in georgia as it ripped across the south. the line of storms stretched 1600 miles. tore apart homes, flipped train cars and cut power to thousands of people. and at least 23 tornados reported, including one that ripped through the town of adairsville, georgia. strong winds also shredded mobile homes in nashville. >> it was just crackling. it was just -- it was just the worst sound i've ever heard in my life. that trailer, you know. that's something compared to the life of this child here or that one. nothing can compare to that. >> besides piles and piles of debris, the storm system has left frigid temperatures in its way. let's head over to the weather department, ingrid peterson, tell us it will end soon. >> severe thunderstorms have

moved off the coast but i don't have good news as far as cold air. take a look at chicago. tuesday, they said a high, a record of 63 degrees. today down to 17 with a chance for snow flurries in the forecast. all of that diving through, stretching through florida. this is yesterday where we had warm temperatures now watch it push off to the south. look at these degrees. atlanta, 30 degrees colder than yesterday. bismarck, negative 37 degrees with that windchill. so definitely a tough day for them. they obviously are not alone in this. this morning, new york, you're about 55. currently dropping down to the 30s. a lot of changes. crazy in love, that's how "rolling stone" is characterizing rihanna as the singer talks about reuniting with chris brown. [ loud party sounds ]

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[ male announcer ] engine light on? come to meineke now for a free code scan read and you'll say...my money. my choice. my meineke. house will end its jobs council today. in a statement, the obama administration says in part, quote, the jobs council has always intended to have a two-year charter.

its charter expires today. that group back in 2011 was chaired by jeff gimholt and comes one day after the latest jobs report comes out tomorrow. we'll see if it's a mistake or not. talking about mistakes, even if -- even if it's a mistake, it's my mistake. i'd just rather live my truth and take the backlash. those are the words of superstar sing rihanna who in an interview with "rolling stone" confirms what many people have long suspected that she is indeed back with her former boyfriend chris brown. the two appeared publicly last month at a lakers game. joining me now is the director and auth of "color me butterfly" a book inspired by domestic violence victims and their family. welcome. >> thank you for having me here, carol.

>> you've seen this with your daughter. what encourages young women to return to or stay with abusers? >> well, most young women say because -- >> why do they stay? >> most young women stay because they think that they can change the change the person and they're in love. you know, it's the same story of my own daughter who was in love with someone that she thought she could change. and she went back several times. >> you know, rihanna says of chris brown, quote, he doesn't have a luxury of screwing up. things are different now. but as you know, brown continues to have these very public violent outbursts on social media. he gets in physical fights with other artists. in fact, his hand is injured right now. he just had a fight with another artist. so, when you hear rihanna say these words, what goes through your mind? >> what goes through my mind is

something that is very common with women in abusive relationships when they don't acknowledge how serious the situation is. and what i would say to rihanna is that love will not heal hurt. a black eye and a busted lip is not love. if he did it once, he will do it again, and you deserve better. >> leah dunham, the star of hbo's "girls" it breaks her heart to see rihanna back with chris brown because it sends a terrible message to young girls. do you agree? >> i think it sends a message that it's okay sometimes to be and stay in these horrible relationships. rihanna's personal experience is her personal experience. but she also has to recognize that she is an icon to the world. and young girls look up to her

and they like to mimic her. and it perhaps will demonstrate that i can be okay i can be with someone that can treat me like this and i don't have to leave. so i do believe there is some challenges with rihanna's latest admittance of wanting to be in this relationship. and looking at how the public is viewing it and what this means to young girls. >> as an expert in domestic violence, do you believe rihanna when she says she'll leave chris brown if he hits her again? >> here's what i believe, i know the most common thing we want to say to someone is to leave and get out. research shows on average, a victim will return seven to nine times before they finally leave. but what's more alarming is that the abuser will repeat the act up to 50% times, if they don't get the help that that he deserve.

>> l.y. marlow founder of domestic violence organization "saving promise." thank you for being with us. on wall street, the dow hovers at a pivotal level. 14,000. but will we cross that line? sha. they have carb steady, with carbs that digest slowly to help minimize blood sugar spikes. [ male announcer ] glucerna hunger smart. a smart way to help manage hunger and diabetes. your financial advisor should focus on your long-term goals, not their short-term agenda. [ woman ] if you have the nerve to believe that cookie cutters should be for cookies, not your investment strategy. if you believe in the sheer brilliance of a simple explanation. [ male announcer ] join the nearly 7 million investors who think like you do: face time and think time make a difference. join us. [ male announcer ] at edward jones,

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